The Hidden War
by AwkwardVulpix
Summary: The Baron's back, and when he targets the greatest detective in fiction, will our heroes be able to stop him? Or will the game stop...forever? (ON HOLD/CANCELLED)
1. A Trip to London

The Hidden War

Chapter One

A Trip to London

()()()

"I'll wait here for you all."

A quick nod between them, and they all left on their respective missions, leaving Jack behind to get a few more things ready.

()()()

Ever since that fateful day, where everything that Celestia and Luna ruled over was nearly destroyed, things had calmed down significantly. There was no major threat to the safety of the kingdom, no monster attacks; in fact, Twilight Sparkle, sitting in her library and reading through the _Daring Do_ series for the fourth time that week, was starting to wish that something interesting would happen. Luckily for her, today was that day.

" 'And so,' " she read aloud, " 'Daring Do was forced to decide which cup was the true one; and if she picked the wrong one, it would be her end'…blah, blah, blah, cup of a farmer, she wins, the day is saved, I know this already!" She slammed the book shut in frustration, sending a loud bang through the library. Spike immediately came onto the scene, worried about the sudden noise.

"Are you okay, Twilight?" he asked, his eyes wide.

"No!" She groaned, and set the book back in its place. "I'm bored! I just wish something, _anything_ would happen!"

Fate smiled upon her, for at that exact moment, Spike's mouth opened and a short burst of green flame erupted from it, staying in the air. Twilight turned around excitedly, hoping that she would get her wish.

"A letter from the Princess?" She shouted, an excited look on her face. Her excitement quickly turned to confusion, though, as the flame simply hung there and did nothing for a few seconds.

"Uh…Spike, is something wrong?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever it is, it didn't come from anywhere near Canterlot."

And then, apropos of nothing, the flame spoke, in a thick Cockney accent that Twilight recognized all too well.

"Twilight? Are you there?"

Twilight stared for a moment, before assuming that it was just some kind of novel magic. "Adam!" She greeted. "What's going on? Do you need me to do something? Please tell me you need me to do something!"

"Yeah, actually. Could you get Rainbow Dash and Applejack and bring them into the center of town? We really need your help with something."

"What's going on?" Twilight asked. The initial high of excitement had dissipated, and now she was worried that someplace was actually in danger. She cursed herself silently for being so selfish.

"The Baron's back, and he's planning something a lot bigger than last time, I think!"

"Wait…I really ought to be here, though…and AJ has the farm, and Rainbow needs to take care of the weather…"

"Don't worry about it, you'll be back right after you leave. You know, timey stuff and the time gods and all that."

Twilight had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but went with it anyway.

"Well…okay."

"Well, I've gotta go. See ya! Bye!"

The flame dissipated, and Spike gaped at it.

"Whoa…I had no idea I could do that!"

Twilight had already ran out the door, leaving Spike alone.

"Oh…that was quick."

He shrugged, and walked to the book Twilight was reading and opened it, starting to read it himself.

"Daring Do is so cool…" he mumbled, losing himself in the words. He recalled Jack saying something about how their fiction would work, but pushed it away as the adventure on the pages took the grasp of his attention.

()()()

Within minutes, Twilight made good on the request, both of the ponies that Adam had called for standing right in front of Twilight, in the middle of the town square.

"So…" Dash began, looking around awkwardly, "he's back?"

Twilight closed her eyes. "Yes, apparently. And if what he's planning is nearly half as bad as what you described to me, we need to do something."

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, we really oughta. But…how, exactly?"

Twilight shrugged. "If Adam told me to bring you here specifically, there must be something he's going to do."

Dash glared. "Yeah, well, I can't just wait around all day. I have a job, you kn-" 

And then suddenly, nothing, and yet everything at the same time. Gone was the comfortable town, instead replaced with all that exists, infinite and gone in the blink of eye. And then, darkness…

()()()

Dash didn't know when she woke up. She didn't know how long it had been since she had gone through whatever that was, had no idea where she was now, and had no idea why her body felt so thoroughly wrong that she almost wanted to vomit.

She took in a quick breath, before turning over on her back and looking down at herself. What she saw was effectively indescribable in her own terms, so I will do it in her stead. She was a human woman, about twenty years of age, and built quite lithe and athletic. She had a blue tanktop with her cutie mark emblazoned on it, and very ragged denim shorts. From what she could tell, her wings were still there, although they felt quite a bit larger, and her rainbow hair was replaced by a fiery red. She seemed to be in a large glass dome inside of a stark white room. A doorway on one side of the room led out to a long, brightly-lit corridor, with a few more doors on each side.

"What…what the hell is this?"

"I know it's a bit weird, but you'll get used to it."

"Adam?" She mumbled.

There was the sound of something sliding open, probably a panel directly behind her, and the sound of someone stepping inside.

"Rainbow Dash, what in tarnation is this?" That was Applejack's voice, and if her tone was any indication, she was not pleased.

"What…am I?" that was Twilight, but she sounded afraid.

Adam sighed. "Alright, listen, could I ask you all to try and stand up?"

Applejack was the first to attempt it, trying to stand on all four of her limbs at once. This quickly failed, and she had to lie back down just because of how wrong it felt.

"No, no, I meant on your hind legs. Your center of gravity is in a different place, so you need to do it that way."

Dash rose to her feet, holding out her arms for balance. Despite that, she was still very wobbly. "You mean…like this?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, you'll get used to it pretty quickly."

"I see…" Twilight had done the same, and Dash got a good look at her. She looked fairly similar, although her hair was cut much shorter and cleaner. Her clothing consisted of a purple dress shirt, with her cutie mark on it, a plaid skirt, and heels, along with very tall stockings. Dash had to restrain her laughter as she looked at her.

"What?" She demanded.

"No offense, Twi, but…you look like a total nerd."

She looked down. "Actually, I like this outfit."

"Speak for yourself." Applejack spoke out. "These are mighty uncomfortable, if I say so myself."

The farmer was referring to a fairly stereotypical cowgirl outfit; her hat, of course, a bandanna, a red button-down shirt with an orange vest, again with her cutie mark, denim jeans, and laced boots.

"Like I said, you'll get used to it."

None of them had really bothered to get a good look at Adam yet, and when they looked at him directly, it was…jolting, to say the least. His white dress shirt and trousers, along with a bright yellow vest, served as stark contrast to an absolutely massive black top hat perched on his head.

Dash had to force herself to not laugh, having extreme difficulty at the sheer exaggerated nature of his chapeau.

"Nice hat, dude."

"Thanks!" He replied, the sarcasm entirely lost on his cheery demeanor. "Now, I'm going to ask you to try and use your fingers."

Twilight looked down at her hand, and noticed the bizarre appendages. "Actually…I remember reading about something similar to this…a lot of animals have 'fingers' they can use to grab things. I'm fairly familiar with the mechanics." She flexed them around a bit, experimenting with their function.

Dash looked at her own, turning her hand over a few times to look at it. "So, wait, are these like Spike's claws or something? Can we, like, grab stuff?"

"That's the idea!" Adam interrupted again. "Now, could you all follow me?"

He started walking away, and Twilight attempted to do the same, stumbling a bit, but quickly getting the hang of it and following him at a reasonable pace.

"Well, if it's that easy!" Dash wasted no time in attempting to walk, not even trying to pace herself…and immediately fell flat on her face.

Applejack laughed. "Sugarcube…if you wanna lasso something, ya gotta have some patience."

To demonstrate, she took a single step forward, and then another one, eventually getting into the groove and leaving the room empty except for the "pegasus".

"Stupid legs…" She grumbled as she slowly got up and tried again; being much more successful on her second attempt, she followed them down the corridor. As she approached the only open door, she began to hear Jack's voice. It took her a moment to recognize it, since they hadn't talked at all for a very long time, but she got there fairly quickly.

"…and that's where I believe we need to go," he was saying. Dash leaned in the doorway, and saw he was looking down at a piece of parchment, but he raised his head almost as soon as she did.

"Hello, Dash. Getting used to your new body?"

"Uh…sure."

"Don't worry, it's just like riding a bike."

"A what?" Twilight asked.

Jack grimaced. "Never mind. Dash, come with us. I'll explain what's happening on the way." He bent over and picked up a large duffel bag filled with several unknown objects, putting it around his shoulder.

She nodded a few times, and glanced at his waist, where some strange device was resting in a holster.

"Uh…" she started, pointing at it, "What is that?"

He looked to where she was pointing, and pulled it out, showing it to her.

"Do you have guns in Equestria?"

Twilight spoke up. "We used to, but we don't use them anymore, and they didn't look a thing like…that."

"I'd imagine not, considering…well, hooves and fingers are completely different. I'm guessing the basic principle is the same, though. Pulling the trigger would have sparked against a charge on the bullet, propelling it out of the barrel?"

"Yes, but I can't be sure. The last one was destroyed long before I was even born."

"JACK!" A loud, boisterous, British voice interjected. "IT'S READY!"

Twilight winced at the volume of it. "Who was that?"

"That was Rothschild. You'll…"

"Get used to it?" Dash finished.

"How did you know I would say that?"

"I've heard it a lot…"

"I'm sure." Jack sighed. "We need to get going. We probably don't have very much time."

He walked away, and almost as one, the rest followed his path into another room, with a device even stranger than the glass dome in it.

"Uh…" Twilight asked, staring at it. "What is that thing?"

That "thing" was a large metal ring, with a swirling gray vortex contained in its boundaries. Despite its color, it was actually very bright, and Twilight soon realized it was the only source of light in what appeared to be a massive, albeit quite well-lit warehouse.

"That, Twilight Sparkle, is my greatest invention ever!" Adam said proudly, stepping towards it. "When we step through this, we'll be right in turn-of-the-century London!"

Dash shook her head. "I still have no idea what you're saying. Seriously, you're worse than Pipsqueak."

Jack stepped in next to her, glaring with a subtle menace. "He said go through that, and you'll end up where you need to be."

"Well, why can't he just do that thing he did earlier?"

Adam frowned. "I would, but it's difficult for me to do more than once, and I can only bring people here with it. We have to use this."

"Uh, beggin' yer pardon, Adam, but if this is gunna be anything like what just happened there, I ain't so sure I can do this."

"Eh, the first time's always the worst. You'll do the second a lot better."

"Enough!" Rothschild interrupted, pushing everything between him and the portal aside. "We can't waste any time with the Baron. He won't be afraid to use technology from completely outside the era."

"What technology level do they have where we're going?" Twilight asked.

"A little more advanced then yours, I'd guess." Jack replied. "But Rothschild is right. We need to go, even if your clothing is…not entirely appropriate. We'll get you ready when we get there."

He said nothing more, instead running straight into the swirling vortex. He seemed to flash for a moment, before disappearing entirely. Adam quickly followed him, as did Rothschild.

"Well, I ain't getting' anything accomplished just standin' here!" Applejack followed suit, and Twilight did as well, not saying anything.

"Eh, whatever." Dash ran through, and found that Adam hadn't lied; this was a lot more bearable the second time, in the sense that she didn't immediately pass out. It was still rather bad, though, since she collapsed and her senses became fuzzy.

"Dash…" An unclear voice asked her. "Dash?" This time it was clearer, and she recognized it as Twilight.

"Dash!" Her voice had gotten a much more demanding tone, and Dash bolted to her feet without really thinking. Her vision cleared, and she saw that nothing had changed in terms of how they looked, at least. They were in a reasonably furnished room, although it looked…old, not just to her, but to all three of the "ponies".

"May I welcome you to London, England." Jack said.

"Where are we?" Twilight asked, looking around the room.

"This is our Victorian safehouse. It exists in every other work of fiction set in this period of Britain. That closet should have some appropriate clothing," he gestured towards a large, ornate wooden wardrobe, "go get some and get changed."

Dash eyed the wardrobe with a look of disdain. "Define 'appropriate clothing'."

Jack fidgeted. "Uh…they're…period dresses."

"Define 'period dresses'."

Jack sighed. "Just look at them."

He opened the wardrobe, revealing three fairly simplistic dresses, each one matching the color of their coats.

"Eh, I can live with that, I guess. I feel kind of cold in this stuff."

"Oh, wait, I've been practicing a new spell for this!" Twilight said.

"Er, wait, Twilight, I'm not sure that magic will work here…"

"No, it will, I can tell." She raised her arm, pointing it at the garments, and focused. Before anyone else could object further, the clothing had been switched out, the girls now wearing the dresses.

"Oh." Jack raised an eyebrow. "Well…I suppose that works. And now…to 221b Baker Street."

()()()

Long enough wait for you? Sorry about that. I just…lacked inspiration. But then I found it again. And sort of lost it again. And found it a second time, and then I wrote this.


	2. 221b Baker Street

The Hidden War

Chapter Two

221b Baker Street

()()()

"Holmes, this is the fourth time now we've done this." Watson said, gesturing towards the small mountain of luggage sitting next to his door.

Holmes only smiled as he walked over to the doctor, making sure to get just close enough that it was uncomfortable without implying anything.

"Yes, and every time, something of significant interest has chosen that exact moment to occur, and every time, you come crawling back to me because, and let's face facts here, you need me, Watson."

"No, I don't need you, and I don't need to nearly get killed yet again. And even if I was somehow mentally ill enough to repeat this whole charade, there hasn't been a case in a year." He forcibly picked up a suitcase to emphasize his next word, the word he hoped would be the last one he would say to Holmes for a long time. "Goodbye."

He opened the door, but saw a man standing there, an athletic, clean-shaven man with a beard, a white jacket, and denim trousers. Standing behind him were three women, wearing dresses of various astoundingly bright colors.

"Is Holmes in?" The bald man asked.

Watson glared in anger for a moment, before throwing down the suitcase and storming off, mumbling angrily to himself.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"So," said the woman in purple, as she walked in and looked at him with a vague sense of awe. "You're the great detective Holmes."

He shrugged slightly and stood up. "I'm the only person here by that name."

"Good." The man in the white jacket stepped forward, extending his hand. When Holmes merely stared at it, he retracted it and cleared his throat.

"My name is Jack Edwards, and I need your help."

Holmes brought his hands to his face, pressing them against each other in concern.

"You come from the American continent, yes?"

Jack nodded.

"And your colleagues?"

"These fine women come from the US as well. I have two others from here in England."

The detective cocked his head to one side. "Interesting. What do you have for me?"

Jack shrugged. "Nothing major. Just a threat to national security, possibly the world, most likely a plot that will kill millions of lives. Nothing that you haven't dealt with before."

Holmes raised an eyebrow. "I thought that Moriarty was dead."

"Watson thought you were dead." Jack pointed out.

"Fair enough."

Jack bit his lip, before speaking again. "It's not Moriarty, though. He's probably about as dangerous, but Moriarty is dead. Speaking of which, how did you manage to survive that fall?"

Holmes stood up. "I still think about it sometimes. That really should not have been survivable."

Jack smiled. "What if I told you I had an explanation?"

"Such as?"

Jack turned to Twilight. "Care to explain?"

She nodded. "Holmes, think of everything that's happened to you. Can you remember anything in great detail before you met Watson?"

"Well…Now that you mention it…I was never able to get much farther than that."

"Can you remember any significant events outside of your cases?"

Holmes paused, looking concerned. "No…"

"You know why that is? Because you're a fictional character."

The detective stared for a lengthy time, shocked as he thought about this.

"That's…not possible…"

Dash stepped up. "Then why is so much missing?"

"It…" He collapsed back into the chair, going over all the facts. "I shouldn't believe it…but I do."

"I have an explanation for that." Jack added. "See, there's a thing called the 'fourth wall', which is the separation between fiction and reality. All characters have some idea of the existence of the fourth wall, but their degree of awareness can vary wildly. My colleagues, for example, are fairly well aware of the existence of the fourth wall, so they accepted the fact that they are fictional quite readily. You, on the other hand, have minimal awareness of it, so although you find it quite impossible, you still recognize it as true."

Holmes looked away. "What of the fiction here?"

Jack grimaced. "Then it gets complicated."

Holmes gave no indication that he understood.

"Extremely complicated. Depending on the detail, it can get to several layers of fictional universes. Trust me, you don't want to get involved."

Holmes breathed deeply. "Everything I've ever done is just the…whim of some author?"

"Director, actually. There are many different versions of you. The 'you' you is part of a film series."

"Film series?"

Jack realized that movies didn't exist yet. "Imagine several colored images moving by per second, giving the illusion of motion, as well as a soundtrack to go with it. It's sort of like a play, but you only need the actors once, and you have a lot more freedom."

Holmes raised an eyebrow. "A fascinating concept."

And that was when Watson burst in, practically fuming.

"Holmes!" he shouted. "You can't honestly believe that nonsense!"

"What nonsense?" He asked innocently.

"That you and I are fictional characters portrayed by actors in some sort of motion play…thing!" He enunciated the last word by flapping his hands quickly.

"Really? Then can you remember anything specific since our last adventure?"

"Oh, you're honestly going to try and use _that_ on me, Holmes? You can't even remember whether the earth goes round the…sun…" A look of realization crossed his face. "I…I can't remember. All I know is that business with Blackwood, Moriarty, and the last one…"

"Precisely." Holmes got up. "My guess is, since those were the only adventures portrayed by the actors, they are all we can remember in great detail."

"But…that's ridiculous, Holmes! No such technology could possibly exist, and even if it did, we are not fictional!"

"Really?" Twilight asked. "Have you ever seen someone do…this?"

She raised her hand, and both Holmes and Watson recoiled in horror as a piece of luggage floated over to her.

"How…" Watson began, before Twilight interrupted him by saying "Magic."

"There's no such thing as that." Holmes stated.

"Then how did that just float over to me?" Twilight challenged.

"There must be an explanation. Blackwood's magic was nothing more than trickery and illusion."

"But he had weeks to set that up. This is the first time you've ever met any of us, and Watson couldn't have had those prepared long enough for us to sneak in and manipulate them without you noticing. In fact, how could we have done that anyway? You can't just make objects float like that without some incredibly obvious method you would have noticed, 'detective'." She said the final word in a very condescending manner, to better emphasize her point.

"But…no…that…bluh…" Watson sputtered, before fainting dead away.

"Hold on." Holmes kneeled down onto Watson's chest, surprised looks crossing the faces of his guests. He slapped the doctor across the face several times.

"That…" Applejack started. "That…looks mighty questionable."

Holmes looked up. "What are you talking about?"

"GET OFF OF ME!" Watson yelled, suddenly waking up from his stupor. He pushed Holmes aside quite harshly, standing up and making a show of dusting himself off. "What in the world just happened?"

"We told you that you're a fictional character and then you fainted like a wimp." Dash said bluntly.

"Like a what?" Watson asked, not in anger, but confusion.

"A pansy." Jack offered.

Watson still looked confused.

Jack sighed. "You're an idiot, Watson."

"That was uncalled for!"

"Listen, right now, we've got more important things to worry about than what's going on. We're wasting time, and we have to do something. Now, would you two like to continue whining, or shall we actually go and get something accomplished?"

"My thoughts exactly," Holmes said, pushing past Jack and leaving.

"You don't even know where you're going." Twilight said, stopping the detective in his tracks on the steps leading down to the street.

"True enough." He turned around, but before entering back into the flat, the sharp report of a pistol rang out and the molding on the doorframe violently exploded, prompting him to duck down into the front hall, everyone already in the front hall to rush to cover, and everybody outside on the street to run away, screaming in a blind panic.

"Who the hell just shot that?" Jack yelled, looking cautiously out into the street. Not a single person was standing outside, so Jack assumed it would be safe to go out.

"An assassin, obviously." Holmes said in a strangely nonchalant tone. "Not a terribly good one, either."

"Dude!" Dash yelled, dropping any pretense of fitting in with the period. "You nearly just got shot and you don't care?"

"He missed." Holmes pointed out.

"So what, he missed! Somebody's out for you!"

"It's the Baron. It has to be. He must have hired an assassin to gun Holmes down who panicked at the last second and missed."

"Who is the Baron?" Holmes asked.

"He's who we're up against. Bad guy. Really bad. He wants to rule pretty much everything and he won't hold back to do it."

"Trust me, he knows what he's talking about." Rainbow Dash shuddered as she recalled the unpleasant memory of what the Baron had turned Equestria into. "It's not a pretty picture."

"And you need our help because?" Watson asked.

"Easy," Jack said, "you two are the main characters. You have more ability, more focus, and you're more likely to win against him."

"What about Mycroft? Or Lestrade? Or even Gregson" Holmes asked.

"In order, lazy, incompetent, and nobody cares."

"Mycroft's not lazy! He is merely…thoughtful."

"Just keep telling yourself that, Holmes." Jack waved his hand around vaguely, before turning back around and starting to leave again. "Now, will you please stop pissing around and _come with me_?"

The rest of the group began following him outside, the commotion earlier starting to die down. However, they barely got into the street at all before Holmes noticed something interesting on the doorstop.

"What's this?" He asked, picking up a plain white envelope. Jack quickly ran over and pulled it out of his hands, looking at the seal on the front.

"It's from the Baron." He said, ripping it open and pulling out a letter, reading it aloud.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_You may be convinced that the assassin I hired was, in fact, a total incompetent, but that is incorrect. He was intended as a warning, to show you that I have significant power in this new world, what with all of my money. I chose to be polite and give you the chance to give up right now and simply go back to your home and not do anything, rather than immediately kill you. However, make no mistake: if you continue with this nonsense, I will make every effort to end all of your lives._

_Yours,_

_The Baron Vlad Klaus Von Schadenfreude_

"So…" Dash started, "What do we do now?"

Jack threw the letter down, groaning in annoyance. "He's making fun of us! If he expects me to just sit by and let him win…"

"So you've made your decision then?" A steely voice came from inside the doorway. Jack wheeled around, seeing the Baron standing right there, in the flesh, smiling cruelly.

"So, you are the inimitable Baron Von Schadenfreude? Not a very subtle name."

The Baron merely shrugged in response. "I wanted to ensure that people would get the right idea about my person. So, would it be safe to assume that you have made the illogical decision to attempt to stop my plan?"

"Would you have expected anything else?" Jack replied.

"Considering who I'm talking to, no." The Baron laughed before drawing his sword and putting the point against Jack's neck.

"But I'm afraid I can't have you lot endangering my plans, so if you don't mind, I'm going to cut open your throat."

"One problem." Jack said, not giving away any hint that he was afraid of the Baron.

The Baron cocked his head to the side. "And that would be?"

"Holmes can get away with some pretty crazy shit."

As if he was waiting for the cue, the detective leapt forward and struck the Baron's legs out from under him. Jack leaped backwards, giving Holmes more room.

"You don't want to fight me, Holmes. You couldn't even beat Moriarty without nearly getting yourself killed."

Holmes tensed for a moment, before running off in a random direction.

"Good decision." The Baron snapped his fingers, disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

"Watson, go get Holmes and head to 500 Bradbury. We'll meet you there."

"So…he knows we're here." Applejack stated.

Jack nodded solemnly. "Yeah, he knows we're here. Now, all we have to do is figure out what he's planning."

()()()


	3. Warning

The Hidden War

Chapter Three

Warning

()()()

"Watson, go get Holmes and head to 500 Bradbury. We'll meet you there." The doctor nodded and ran off after Holmes, leaving only the other four. He managed to catch sight of him ducking into an alleyway before disappearing entirely down a side route.

"Holmes!" Watson yelled, not getting any response. "Holmes, it's safe now!" The response to this was similarly lacking, a few people looking at him oddly and nothing else. Watson rolled his eyes, groaned, and ran into the alley, looking around for any signs of Holmes.

"Holmes!" He yelled again, looking down the route he disappeared into.

"You're just great at being hidden, aren't you?" Watson mumbled, running past one alleyway and towards the next before getting assaulted by a man dressed in filth and little else. It was impossible to make out any of his features

"Spare a copper, gov?" He asked in a raspy voice that Watson could barely understand.

"No, sorry." Watson said, attempting to get away from him. A sharp clasp on his shoulder quickly stopped him.

"Please, gov, I need it!"

Watson rudely brushed the dirty hand away, not even giving him an answer this time. He walked away once more, before a tap on the shoulder stopped him a third time.

"Oh, I should have guessed. Another disguise, Holmes?"

"Guess again," A flat Norwegian voice answered, before a swift chop to the neck utterly paralyzed him. The last thing Watson saw while conscious was the vagabond pulling off some of his rags, revealing a terrifying face whose eyes were utterly blank. When he faded into unconsciousness, the white-eyed man shoved his body under a pile of debris, hiding it very well. As he heard footsteps and Holmes' voice calling out for Watson, he mumbled a bizarre series of words and his body began to change, quickly becoming a perfect match for Watson, clothes and all.

"Watson!" Holmes yelled once more, coming in from the side alley behind the imposter. "What's going on?"

Not-Watson turned around and smiled. "Don't worry, Holmes," he said, "It's safe now. Come on, we need to go to 500 Bradbury."

"Excellent." Holmes hastily ran off, the Watson clone chasing after him.

()()()

"THE BARON!" Rothschild yelled, all of them now in the safe location. "Here? In London? We must warn the Queen! Call the Prime Minister! Call Parliament! We must prepare!"

"Oh, yeah?" Dash asked snidely. "What'll we tell 'em? That some guy with a stupid-looking eye thingy is gonna do something we haven't figured out yet? Oh, yeah, that'll fly. Like a lead brick!"

"Firstly, Dash," Jack noted, "It's called a monocle, and it's actually quite nice looking, if I may say so."

Twilight frowned. "There was something…weird about it. I don't know what it is, but I could sense…something coming out of it."

"An interesting development," Holmes said, barging in with "Watson". "You have a significant magical ability, may I assume?"

Twilight blushed. "Well, I don't like to brag, but…"

"She's pretty much the best around." Applejack noted.

"On that note…" Holmes turned to Watson. "Nice try, but whatever you're planning it isn't going to work."

Watson fidgeted. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"He's lying." Applejack said. "I can tell lying."

Watson looked left, then right, before pulling out a knife and attempting to stab Holmes with it. He was disarmed quickly, Holmes turning his wrist behind his back and embedding the knife in a wall.

"Who are you really?" Holmes demanded.

"That's none of your concern." He answered, the flat Norwegian accent coming through.

"Herobrine?" Jack asked. "Clever plan. Almost worked, too."

"He's got a message for you," Herobrine said. "You want it?"

Jack tensed. "Tell me."

"Run."

Suddenly, a slight click sounded out through the room, seemingly from inside the wall.

"What was that?" Holmes demanded, pushing Herobrine harder against the wall.

"Didn't you hear me? Run!"

There was another click, and then a fast series of them.

Jack's eyes widened. "It's a BOMB!"

"Oh no!" Adam yelled. "Quick, grab onto me!"

In a blind panic, everybody took hold of him, Holmes releasing Herobrine and allowing him to escape out of the window.

"TELEPORT!"

()()()

221b Baker Street

And just as he activated his spell, all of them ended up back at Baker Street, in Holmes' flat.

"Oh, goodness…" Holmes moaned, stumbling over to a rubbish bin and violently heaving.

"Teleport sickness." Adam explained. "You get used to it."

Dash raised her hand. "Am I the only one that can barely understand a word he's saying?" 

"It doesn't get any better." Jack said, making Adam frown. "Trust me."

"What…was that?" Holmes panted, his legs subtly shaking.

"That was a teleport!" Adam said, his frown utterly disappearing instantly.

"Well, don't do that again."

"Oh, al…"

Suddenly, the bomb went off. Although they couldn't see the explosion, the sheer loudness of it, especially at that distance, was more than enough to indicate that had they stayed, they all would have died.

"Okay, so, the safehouse is gone." Jack said. "Now what?"

A knock on the door was his answer.

"Come in." Holmes moaned. The door opened, revealing a rather dirty Watson standing there.

"Well, yet again, Holmes, you've managed to drag me into something I wanted to take no part in whatsoever. Congratulations."

"Glad you're here, real Watson." Jack said.

"Now, to business. What would the Baron want?" Holmes asked.

"Probably something involving the Queen, or someone of great importance." Jack reasoned. "However, as Dash correctly noted, warning them would probably not be a good idea."

Watson put his arms up in frustration. "Well, what then?"

"Investigate the blast site?" Twilight suggested. "That could lead to something."

"An excellent suggestion." Holmes said. "Let us go over at once."

"Wait, wait, someone should stay here." Jack said. "If we all go, and he tries something else here, we're doomed."

"Good point. Watson, Twilight, was it? You come with me to investigate the wreckage."

"Hey, hey, wait, I'm not really good at this sort of thing…"

"Yes, but if something goes wrong, you stand the greatest chance of being able to protect us."

"Well…that's fair, I guess. And I might, _might_, be able to find something."

"Good then. Watson, do you have your revolver?"

"No, I didn't think to take it with me, _Holmes,_ because I should be at the train station right now."

"Well, go and get it, then!"

Watson huffed, and then ran up the stairs to his room.

"What about you?" Twilight asked.

"I already have mine."

"Why?"

"I tend to keep it with me in case a situation arises that may require it."

"I've got it." Watson said, coming down the stairs and brandishing a medium-sized revolver.

"Hey, hey, hey, watch where you're pointing that thing!" Dash yelled, ducking her head down.

"Well, it's not exactly a hair trigger." Watson chided, holstering the gun within his coat.

"Do you want one?" Holmes asked Twilight.

A semblance of a frown crossed her face, but it quickly dissipated. "I'm not really comfortable using one of those."

"Well, magic should be more than enough. And now, to be off."

"We'll just stay here in case anything develops, then?" Rothschild asked.

"Indeed." Without another word, the three were off to investigate whatever they could find at the wreckage site.

()()()

Surprisingly, the building was still standing, though much of the inside had obviously been devastated. Everybody nearby had cleared out, leaving the streets completely barren except for three people standing there, examining the remains of the edifice.

"What type of bomb was this?" Watson asked. "The building is not even on fire!"

"Some sort of intense, localized explosion." Holmes conjectured. "Something that did not result in any sort of flame, probably shrapnel-based."

"I can tell from here that you're right." Twilight said. "But…something's wrong."

"What?" Watson asked.

"I…think I know what kind of bomb this was. It's from where I come from, and it's mostly magic based, so it shouldn't be here."

"How can you tell?" Holmes asked.

"The size of the explosion that could be assumed from the sound, and the fact that this entire block hasn't been leveled. It was designed to assassinate important targets without causing significant collateral damage. If I recall correctly, it creates a small field around predefined organisms, and then produces a very intense magically propelled blast of shrapnel to kill them instantly. Luckily, we teleported out of harm's way before it went off, or before it could reset the field."

"Fascinating." Holmes said. "Shall we go inside?"

"Well, I doubt you'll find anything of significant use. It's an extremely devastating weapon."

"Anything would be enough for me." Holmes kicked the door in and observed the damage. Although it was obvious that the blast had been contained perfectly by something, since at a certain radius, the damage stopped, everything within the barrier had been utterly devastated. An entire section of wall was missing, and the wallpaper was hanging off in tatters around the massive hole.

"Well, it was hidden within the wall, so obviously whoever that was had set it up a long time beforehand. The amount of preparation to hide it so perfectly must have been impressive."

"And yet the Baron still told us about it, and then there was the clicking." Watson pointed out.

"Another warning, I would imagine, and a much more serious one." Holmes thought for a moment. "It's not safe for us at 221b anymore. He knows exactly where we are, and we must make haste elsewhere if we are to survive." Holmes climbed inside the crater, examining the damage further.

"Anything at all?" Twilight asked.

"No. Everything has been destroyed…except for this!"

Holmes reached inside the remains of the wall, pulling out a small note.

"What does it say?"

" '_If you are reading this note, then congratulations, you are alive! It is obvious that you refuse to simply give up, and would prefer dying a horrible death instead. Well, if you must know, I am currently working on a most glorious machine, deep within the heart of London. Even if, by some impossible stroke of luck, you manage to stop it, I have a backup plan that is even more devastating waiting. So, it is your choice: give up now, after these two warnings, and allow thousands to die; try to stop me and fail, resulting in your deaths as well; or try to stop me and succeed, which will only make the situation vastly worse. Yours, the Baron Vlad Klaus von Schadenfreude.'"_

Holmes tucked the letter in his pocket. "So, a machine in the heart of London."

"The geographic center?" Twilight suggested.

"No, more likely an area of extreme importance." Holmes said half-mindedly.

"Buckingham Palace!" Watson reasoned. "Or Trafalgar Square?"

"Gah, never mind! We should not be guessing as to the Baron' intentions without more information! If we simply investigate every location that could be taken as 'the heart of London' then we will never find anything!"

"He has a point. I think we should go back and start thinking about this in a more constructive way."

"We should stay as far away from Baker Street as possible." Holmes said. "Perhaps a stay at a hotel would be in order."

"That would probably be easiest, yes." Twilight said.

"How could we possibly pay for that?" Watson asked.

"If nothing else, I'll ask Mycroft." Holmes dismissed. "Shall we be off, then?"

"That's probably a good idea." Twilight said. "Know any good hotels?"

"A few." Holmes quickly departed, his companions following him.

()()()

London, England

Unknown Location

"Did you deliver the message, Herobrine?" The Baron asked, observing a strange machine through a glass panel. It was two massive iron cylinders connected to a central panel by a series of brass pipes and plastic tubing. A few people were milling about, dressed in high-end HazMat suits.

"Indeed." The Norwegian answered.

"Excellent." The Baron smiled, and yelled, "How is the progress on the machine?"

"It is going exactly as planned, my lord." One of the men answered, in a thick Russian accent. "We should be done in a few days."

"Excellent. And the…other project?"

"That is much more ambitious, and will take some more time to complete all the way, perhaps a month."

"No matter. Better a working product later than a shoddy one now. A shame, really. Most villains are so…impatient. They kill the bearer of bad news when he confirms that they will need more time, as opposed to…simply giving them more time."

"And you aim to fix that?" Herobrine asked.

"Yes. I was hoping that Equestria would be the start of my supreme plan, but London will serve my purpose just as well. It matters not where the beginning is, so long as I can begin."

"Unless Jack and his team manage to defeat you."

The Baron smiled. "He is not an issue. I underestimated him quite severely last time, I admit, and even if they find this…" He gestured towards the machine, "It will serve no purpose. They do not have a chance of stopping the backup plan."

"How can you be so sure?" Herobrine asked.

"Because," the Baron answered, "if it is activated…London will be nothing more than a smoldering wasteland." He chuckled. "Would it be arrogant of me to say that I am a genius?"

"I wouldn't say so, since you are."

"Good point." The Baron resumed watching the work, looking intently as his plan neared completion.

()()()


End file.
